deddy's blog

(some) facts about china

2008-07-07T20:08:00.002+07:00

been about 2 weeks in china, and i see some interesting facts about china, here are some of them that caught my attention

english words are often misspelled
it happens everywhere, from the printing on shirts, building's signs to warning in airports, they misspelled a lot of words, haha..

many chinese starts to work at an early age
there are many youngsters working at restaurants, hotels, gas stations, higher education is still limited.

china temperature varies widely between season
as high as 39 degree and as low as -4 degree in the same place! maybe it's because china has 4 seasons.

chinese drivers sits in the left of the car
and their taxi have iron bars..

in china, houses are mostly apartment
unlike Indonesia, most chinese live in apartment, maybe china governor want to conserve housing land... since they have to provide housing for 1 billion people

chinese use toilet papers >.<
...

chinese eat their rice last in a meal
quite strange, chinese usually eat other food first, and rice is last

chinese prefer to drink hot water than normal or cold water
hmm.. maybe it's good for health??

fork and spoons are rare
they're only available at big restaurants, mostly they use chopsticks >.<

there is no such thing as capcay, puyunghai, sapo tahu, lomie in china
it's quite shocking that even in a restaurant, these foods which we know as chinese foods (in Indonesia) are not available. Maybe Indonesia can claim it as Indonesian food ^^.

graduate study in US, why and how

2008-05-25T15:37:00.009+07:00

This time, I will describe about graduate study in US. Different from my older posts which talk only about myself, this post is meant for others, so that everyone can have a sketch of having graduate study in US. (I just realize that blog articles are not only about yourself, but also meant for others to get information :p). So what do we have here? First, I will describe a few reasons why to have your graduate study in US, next is the steps you will need to do to enroll in US university.. Happy reading and hope this article is useful..

Before you think about having your graduate study in US, you might first ask yourself "do i want to do my graduate study? or am i satisfied with my bachelor degree and are ready to hit the road?" If you opt to have your graduate study, then the next question is "why US? there are hundreds other countries in the globe?" Here, I will describe why (according to my point of view of course ^^) :

- Good education acknowledged throughout the globe
I am not saying that US is the only country with good education, I do believe that other country like Indonesia also have a good education (we won many science olympics right?). But my focus here is about acknowledgement. By having a degree in US, you will be recognized throughout the globe (which means that you can opt to work in any country), simply said, it opens many chances for you.

- Better chance to gain good working experience
Well, happy or not, it is a fact that US is the home of many big companies (Apple, Adobe, Intel, Microsoft, etc2), and by studying in US, you get a better chance to see the big company from the inside (and to get the big paycheck of course ^^).

- "Cheaper" things
Sounded contrary to fact?? Here's what I mean. It is true that US item price (in dollar) when converted into Rp will seem expensive, but your income (after or WHILE you do your study) will also come in dollar. Let's have some example. A starter Dell Inspiron 1420 Notebook in Indonesia will cost 889$ (about 8 million in Rp), while in US, you can get it for the SAME price. Get my point now? Many electronics come from US (Notebooks, Ipods, Cars, TVs, and many other), and when they arrive in Indonesia, do their prices lower?? NO! In Indonesia we are forced to buy US goods with Rps. This is not absolutely true for every items though, items like food, housing and service are more expensive in US. But overall, it is said that living expense in US is 3 times in that of Indonesia, while US workers get paid about 8-9 times more than Indonesian workers. This makes the things relatively cheaper.

- Better chance to meet different kinds of people
Some said that US is a melting pot - a country consists of many kinds of people. By having your education there, chances are you get to meet many new people which you may never see outside the television ^^.

Well that's the major reasons to have your education in US, there's still other minor reasons like going to disneyland, trying all kinds of food, watching live american idol. But it will be too long to list them all. Next, I will list a few things to prepare your education in US :

- Good english
Well obvious isn't it? How can you have your education if you can't understand what they're saying ^^. English proficiency is usually measured by TOEFL test. a 550 in paper based TOEFL is usually enough, though some graduate school asks for 600.

- GRE/GMAT test
these are the tests required if you plan to have your graduate study in US. GMAT is required for business schools, while GRE is for science and engineering study. I don't know much about GMAT, but in GRE, the topics are english verbal(again), analytical writing (duhh), and quantitative mathematics. Go to ETS website for more info on GMAT and GRE.

- State choice
US has 50 states, each with its own characteristics. Do you prefer big crowded cities with high income and high living cost? or maybe a quiet suburb with less traffic and low living cost? can you withstand snow? Find a place that suits you.

- University choice
After you choose the state you live in, you have to choose the university for your graduate study. want a private university (more expensive)? or maybe just a state university (cheaper). Here's a link which may help you make your university choice

- Last but not least.. expense planning
Education and living in US costs(of course) more than in Indonesia. You have to plan your budget carefully so as not to hinder your graduate study. Many financial aid is available, but they usually put you under certain conditions though

I think that is the major things you'll need to prepare to have your graduate study in US, although you cannot overlook small things such as Passport, visa, buying winter clothes, etc2.

Well I guess that's it for now, I hope that you find this article useful, and if you have further questions regarding this topic, I would be glad to help you find the answer ^^.

the things between

2008-05-24T09:55:00.003+07:00

been about a month since i start to plan about graduate study, and it's not a smooth one, many new obstacles exposed, many question and temptation sways my mind. Some of them just plain unreasonable worries, but some of them give me better understanding of how i should plan my graduate study. One of them is of course about university choice (again). This time, i try to be realistic and plan to get the best for my resource. Here's the complete story..

In my previous post, i only mention about the best university and the state one, right now, after doing some exploration and fact gathering, i found out that US universities are different from those of Indonesia. In Indonesia, let's say that you want to choose the informatics engineering major. Then you can only opt to enroll in about 4-5 universities which have a good informatics engineering major. But in US, universities are abundant, and of course a lot of them are good universities, although the best universities often shadows them from being known.

For example, in computer science major, US have 140 universities ranked, and more of them unranked. I see that my previous choice (which i considered dumb right now) was to choose between the first rank and the unranked one. At least 139 universities stand between them, and i do not know it >.<.

Shortly speaking, I'm going to try not only the best university, but also the universities between, I want to get the best for my resource. Here's some universities i plan to apply :

1. UC Berkeley (Ranked 1)
Still the same old dream.. Even it's near impossible, but hey, we should keep aiming for the best aren't we?

2. CIT California Institute of Technology (Ranked 11)
Well, this one is also high ranked, located in California also, a decent choice, but of course hard to enroll. 85% GRE and 3.5 GPA...

3. Wisconsin Madison (Ranked 11)
This one is the only univ located outside California which I considered, it is located up north in Madison. I get this reference from my lecturer, thanks to Mr. Wikan, I will absolutely consider this university as my choice even it is not in CA.

4. UCLA University of California Los Angeles (Ranked 13)
Also a good one, UCLA is one of the Ivy League universities (happen to know this term because of hendro, thx ^^). I think that I've seen this university in some film.. Located in California, in Los Angeles, -which my sis says- inhabited by a lot if Indonesians.

5. UC San Diego (Ranked 16)
This one is also good ranked, Top 25 Universities are hard to enroll. And the most important thing, this university also located in CA.

6. University of Southern California (Ranked 20)
Another CA university, this university is a bit pricy, but whatever, I'm trying to get the best out of my current resource.

7. UC Irvine (Ranked 31)
Another UC, (for those who still do not get it, UC stands for University of California). Ranked 31, a quite good one, and it resembles my student number ^^.

8. UC Davis (Ranked 37)
Another UC, this one is located near my sis house. Ranked 37, it means that there are other 103 universities ranked below this one (optimistic thinking). And the number is also familiar.

9. SJSU San Jose State University
All hail state university!

Well, that's the universities i plan to apply, the list may narrow overtime (or maybe getting larger?).. I do believe that what happen to me is the best for me, including university. I just hope that I can be happy and spirited in the process..

faster or better(and risky)

2008-04-16T22:06:00.006+07:00

It's been about 2 weeks since i decided to plan about my graduate education, and it do feels very heavy and unsure. One of the essential uncertainty i'm facing right now is about university choice. Should I choose the easier and faster way? or struggle for the uncertain, time consuming, difficult but glorious way? Here's the complete story..

I plan to have my graduate education as soon as i finish my undergraduate (so as not to waste any of my precious time), and the perfect time for it, will surely be Fall 2009 (about September). Of course it is assumed that I shall finish my undergraduate in July.

The bad thing is, to enroll in Fall 2009, i have to complete my registration in December 15, 2008 (damn, why should it be so early?) and that means :
- I MUST take the TOEFL test before December 15, 2008
- I MUST take the GRE general test before December 15, 2008
- I MUST take the GRE computer science test as soon as October 2008 (it is only held twice a year, on April and October XD, and it sure is damn hard, so how and when should i prepare?)
- I can only submit my 7th semester grade

all of the above, actually do not matter if I opt to enroll in state university, since average GRE, TOEFL will be accepted. (I do not even have to take the GRE computer science test), and soon, the above items will at most take three days to fulfill. That is the faster way (which right now i considered REALLY faster). Now let's look at another option.

To enroll in Berkeley or Stanford computer science, what i need to do is (maybe what I THINK I need to do) :
- Have a TOEFL above 600 (not quite a problem i guess, maybe i need about 2 weeks preparation)
- Have 90% or more in GRE general test (quite a problem, since verbal GRE is extremely hard, may need at least 2 months of preparation)
- Have 80-90% in GRE computer science test (This is the real problem, in the practice test which i've tried, the test is waaaay to hard XD (got below 50% even with others help) i don't know how long should i prepare, to get myself a score of even 80% (2 months?, a year?, maybe forever XD)
- Have more publications and research experience in database (time consuming indeed, although I cannot specify how many months it takes to have enough publications and research experience which is "eligible" to enroll in Berkeley or Stanford).

seeing the above condition, i guess that it is wise (actually visible) to register for Fall 2010 instead. This way, I can have the time I need to prepare everything such as test preparation and database researches (I may even have the time to study Chinese language in China for about 3 months ^o^). But it spends a precious year in my youth...

If my one year effort can take me to Berkeley or Stanford, then i think it is worth the time, but what if i fail? what if Berkeley or Stanford wouldn't let me in even with my one year effort? Should i wait another year? Or should i enroll in state university instead? If so, i should've registered in 2009 instead!

Which path should I choose?, one will lead to unavoidable guilty feelings (why don't I try to enroll in Berkeley or Stanford) while other may lead to great regret (why don't I just register earlier to state univ)... or lead to satisfaction if I manage to enroll in Berkeley or Stanford.

A Crossroad on the way ahead

2008-04-09T07:21:00.005+07:00

Yesterday, i have done a big progress in achieving my dream of enrolling in stanford or berkeley. I've shared my dream with a reliable person whom i think "knows what I should do". She gave me many encouragement, light the path up so that i can see it more clearly. While being happy since she seems to draw me closer to my dreams, i feel like being exposed to an "I will face it eventually" problem. It is about making choice of how should i live my life. Here, I shall describe them.

I realize that a person's life is far more complicated than just a forkroad, but this time, I think that my choice will affect what will I become in the years ahead.

The First Path :

Path of The Entrepreneur

In this path, i describe myself as a liberal entrepreneur, a free man who earns his living by doing his own business. I have a good educational background, but I practically don't use it very much, it's very much like "flowers from the past".

The history of my life will more or less be like this :
I graduate from ITB with average achievement, and i enroll in state university in USA (SJSU or SFSU maybe). After finishing my master, i do about 2-3 years of "average" professional carreer, and the next thing i do is to return to Indonesia, find a wife, and continue mom's business.

This path seems good enough actually, many people will see this path as a happy way to live your life (I quite agree actually). Here's the pros and cons of this path :
+ Will finish my education relatively faster (State Univ won't take much effort to enroll and graduate)
+ Less effort (I can simply do nothing, and enroll in a state univ, no other work needed)
+ I will relatively be "guided" to the path which i think i am suitable on (my mom's got a good business to run, and she hopes that I can continue running it, rather than forcing my brain to work harder)
- The guilty syndrome of living an "average" life (why choose to be average when you can be special)
- Miss my chance to meet the world's best.. and of course become one of them
- Miss my chance to "learn" (I will just go with the flow rather than striving to achieve what is near impossible with planned effort)

The Second Path :

Path of The Professional

In this path, I describe myself as a successful professional. I am extremely expert at some things, and do it for living. I work at the best company, having a good position with a good amount of salary. I am able to get to this point due to my great educational background, I enroll in the earth's best university, I encounter the world's best professors. Although not exact, but i believe that my chance of being an entrepreneur will diminish in this path.. I may opt to be a researcher or professionals since my educational background allows.

The history of my life will more or less be like this :
I graduate from ITB a bit longer (maybe even 5 years) with much effort. I do many research regarding database, encounter many new things (and new things is always hard to adapt), and by any chance.. enroll in stanford or berkeley ^o^. After i enroll, i join the professors in many research, after finishing my master, I will be faced with 2 choices : become a professional, or pursue a Phd... I may return to Indonesia to become an entrepreneur, but the chance is lower than if i go to state univ. Most likely, i will stay in US and become a professional or researcher.

This is the harder path, maybe because it is not quite suitable for my characteristic. Here's the pros and cons :
+ Get to meet the world's best and become one of them
+ Living my life to it's fullest (I really get precious experience, it is to see the world from the top and become extraordinary)
+ Open more choices for my future
+ Better prestige and better chance to meet a decent woman ^o^
- Risky act (delay my graduation for the sake of the thing I am not very good at)
- Feeling that it is worthless (after i struggle very much and pay very much, i return to Indonesia to become an entrepreneur)
- May drag me to other path than becoming an entrepreneur (I love to be an entrepreneur, but if I go to a place where everyone dreams to be professionals and researchers, i doubt that my dream will stay, i think that the more you interact with them, the more you share your dream with them, and the more you understand their way of thinking, so the more you become alike with them)

That's the two path that i can predict of. But why can't i get the best of them? Why can't i graduate early, enroll in stanford or berkeley in 2009, see the world from the top, pursue a professional career until the age 35, and continue as an entrepreneur in Indonesia. This sounds great ^o^.

~Believe In What You Choose, For It Will Create Your Destiny~

A day with many heavy blows to the mind

2008-04-07T17:49:00.005+07:00

whew, just got home after this tiring day, 07 April 2008, Today, others may see me as usual as i can be, but actually i am experiencing "heavy blows" on my inner self.

Start the morning with a negative comment on my goal, it feels like all my big effort is worthless, i am usually used to this kind of comment, but this one hits me hard because i guess that he is right, and i can't change a thing about it >.<... Is it really worthless? Will my effort change nothing? Should i accept the condition i am in right now?

In the afternoon, i simply fail to hold my horses, i spit out all my negative opinion in front of the corresponding person.. with rage. This really made me feel guilty, well the person is quite precious to me, although not perfect, but then why should he be perfect anyway? Isn't it normal for a person to have defects? after all we're only human...

That's the major two, the other one is a question in my idealism which i cannot prove. I can't hold my idealism in this case, tempting me to just throw away my own law and go with the flow... And i still don't know how to solve this with my current point of view..

The last is about achievement, today, i am shown the fact that other kind of person have their success, while i -which i always considered different from them- am stuck in the place, waiting for miracles and having only hopes and dreams as lifeline. what should i do? should i follow their path? should i feed entirely from hopes and dreams? when will i get my actual share of success with the path i believe in?

That's the heavy blows i sustained today, i may look the same on the outside, but inside i am truly in pain, i feel like been thrown away further from my dreams... But here's what i believe

I do BELIEVE that every person has got his ups and downs, and it is when you face your "DOWNS" that you will take the real test to be a winner, it is the experience you need to become a champion, because a true winner is not the one who always win, but the one who always gets up from his downs, so that he can survive to see his sunrise once again!

~Keep even your smallest Candle Lit up! For it will guide you from the darkness to the light~

heavy obstacle ahead

2008-04-06T18:34:00.003+07:00

today, as i browse through the stanford's and berkeley's website, i found many things. Most of them excite me, and make me feel spirited about taking my graduate education there. I've downloaded many forms, information, take note of important deadlines and finally, i notice some statement that hit me really hard >.<.. that it made me awake from my sweet dreams ^^ as you can guess, it's... about GPA..

It's stated in berkeley's site, that every year, computer science department accepts over 2500 graduate applications to fill the precious 75 available slots. It also says that the average GPA of admitted students is.. guess what.. a whooping 3,7!! with quantitative GRE above 90%.

I am not really concerned about the 90% quantitative GRE, i believe that Indonesian mathematics is more than enough to tackle GRE (got about 80% on first blind try). But the GPA things kinda ruined my hope. Right now, i've finished 100 credits with average GPA of 2,97.. I've predicted that at best, i will graduate with at most 3,20... most likely about 3,10 though..

They do say that minimum GPA requirement to apply for computer science department is 3,0. but with a GPA of -let's say 3,20-, how can i compete with other 2500 apllicants for the 75 seats? I realize that many of the applicants will most likely have better GPA, come from better university (Tokyo Univ, NTU, or maybe Stanford or Berkeley's undergraduate), and soon the 75 seats feels like too little, too narrow for a person with GPA of 3,20 from Indonesia, eventhough i attended the best major at the best university in the country...

So.. what should i do? should i put away my dreams?? should my hope shatter after realizing this agonizing fact? I choose NOT to do so

I know that my chances are slim, maybe i got rejection email as soon as they sort the applicants by their GPA, maybe there are hundreds or even thousands of other applicants whose GPA is better than mine. But I do believe that miracles happen to those who desires for it and never gives up their hope. I choose to keep my head up, I want to be extraordinary!

Right now, i honestly do not have any particular plan to raise my chance in reaching my place of dreams.. i am still looking for a way to demonstrate that "a person is more than just a GPA".

~To Hope is To Understand The Essence of Life Itself~

Welcome

2008-04-06T08:01:00.008+07:00

aah, finally, my own blog..

intend to use this blog as a training ground to improve my written english, so everything will be in english.

by the way, the two pictures are berkeley (left) and stanford (right). my place of dream in 2009. Hope i will get there ^^